


Nightingale

by SynysterShadows



Category: RWBY
Genre: Black Sun, Blake x Sun, F/M, Sun x Blake, and I don't want to be that person spamming character tags just to show up searches, and the rest of their teams are part of the story, but they're not a major part, eclipse - Freeform, solar eclipse, there's some Neiss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-04 19:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5345531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SynysterShadows/pseuds/SynysterShadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Future!AU where Blake and Sun dated for some time while they were younger but some time after graduation, they broke up. After cutting Sun out of her life, Blake is forced to see Sun again as SSSN comes back into town for Weiss and Neptune's wedding. Things are awkward, things are tense, but all both Sun and Blake want to do is salvage the relationship they used to have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sun looked away from the window as the door opened up. Neptune was coming back in, his arms filled with snacks. He tipped slightly as the train took a corner. 

“Does Weiss even know we’re coming in early?” Scarlet asked as Neptune sat back down. 

“No, but Ruby does,” he replied, handing Sage a bag of chips. 

“So then how are they going to pick us up?” Sage said.

“They’re out in the town doing some wedding stuff. They’ll be by the train station and when we pull in, Ruby’s going to bring Weiss to the train station.”

“And how exactly is she going to manage that? Weiss isn’t going to want to just go into a train station in the middle of doing wedding stuff,” Sun said, grabbing the banana that Sage offered him. 

“Ruby said she’s got it all figured it out and not to worry,” Neptune assured. He dropped the remaining snacks in the space between him and Scarlet and picked out a bag of chips.

“And what about when she flips because she doesn’t have rooms ready for us back at their place?” Scarlet said.

“Yang’s got that. Ruby told Yang what’s going on and Yang said she’d have the rooms ready for us.” Sun’s tail flicked.

“Does Blake know we’re coming in early?” he asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. He looked at Neptune, ignoring the looks he knew Sage and Scarlet were giving him.

“I don’t know. I don’t think Ruby told her and I’m not sure if Yang told her anything,” Neptune finally answered. Sun nodded and looked away.

He hadn’t voiced any issues when Neptune had announced they would be coming to Vale earlier than planned for his upcoming wedding to Weiss. But he knew that everyone knew he was concerned about how Blake would feel about this.

It had been four years since Sun had spoken to Blake, almost five since they had broken up. Despite giving her the same reason he always gave her, that he would do whatever it took to be with her, the black haired girl had broken up with him because she was tired of making him a target for the White Fang. And since it was what she wanted and he tried to put her wants first even if it killed him, Sun respected her wishes and they ended their relationship on the condition that they could remain friends. 

They did for awhile. They would still talk, still video chat, and once Sun still took a trip out to Vale like he would every few months. But then her messages stopped. She stopped responding. She stopped answering his calls. Sun tried to keep reaching out to her, but when it was coming back with nothing, he stopped. He figured she had her reasons and she would come back to him if and when she was ready.

Sun knew that Blake was hyperaware that Neptune and Weiss’ wedding meant having to see him again and to be around him. And if she was still the same girl he loved, he knew she was nervous and would be worrying about how seeing him would go up until the second she actually did see him. Now showing up a week early would completely throw her off. He didn’t want their first meeting to be in front of everyone, where they would all be watching them, listening to them. But he didn’t know if she would be willing to meet up with him somewhere, just the two of them.

Sun was jolted out of his thoughts as the train came to a stop. His heart started pounding when he realized this was it, they were in Vale. He swallowed down his nerves. He could do this. He’s been doing dangerous and crazy things his entire life. He could come face to face with the girl he still loved.

The blond boy took his bag when Sage held it out to him.

“You okay?” Sage asked, noticing the anxious flick of Sun’s tail. Sun nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he assured before following Neptune out of the carriage. 

“Why are we even here?” Sun heard Weiss asking as he and his friends finally got off the train.

“Because I wanted to come see the trains!” Ruby replied.

“But we have a lot of things to do! We don’t-“ Weiss started retorting but stopped when she spotted Neptune through the crowd. “Neptune!” she exclaimed. She dropped the bags in her hands and pushed her way through the crowd to the blue haired boy. Neptune laughed as she ran straight into his open arms. Sun smiled at the sight of them. Even if this trip was making him nervous, he was still glad to see his best friend so happy.

“What are you guys doing here? You’re not supposed to come in for another week!” Weiss said after she kissed Neptune.

“I figured we’d make things a little easier for you and come in earlier to help out with the last minute things you need to do,” he replied.

“He means _he’ll_ help with the last minute things,” Sun said, grinning when Neptune tossed him a glare.

“Hey, guys!” Ruby greeted when she finally came over with the bags Weiss had dropped.

“Busy morning?” Scarlet chuckled as he took some of the bags from Ruby.

“Ugh, yes. She’s been shopping all morning. There was still more errands she wanted to do, but I think I got out of it for now,” she said, glancing at Weiss and Neptune. Weiss gasped and looked to the rest of the boys.

“You guys are here a week early. The rooms aren’t ready for you guys!” she said.

“Don’t worry. Yang was in on this too and she said she’d take care of that,” Neptune told her.

“You really had all of this planned out, didn’t you?” Neptune grinned and nodded. “Let’s get you guys to the house then and all settled in.”

“Hey, Nep?” Sun said as everyone started moving. Neptune looked back at him. He told Weiss he’d be right back when he saw Sun hadn’t followed them.

“What’s up?” he asked when he reached the blond boy.

“I’m gonna head down to the fountain in front of Beacon,” Sun said. “Do you think you could tell Blake I’ll be down there for a little while?” Neptune’s eyebrows rose.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Sun smiled slightly. He understood his friend’s concern. Neptune had been the only one to really understand how hard it hit Sun when Blake broke up with him. Sure Sage and Scarlet knew, but it had been Neptune that Sun stayed up late talking to, wondering where in the world this had come from and confessing in a quiet, broken voice that _damn_ did it hurt.

“I think it’d be better for the both of us if we did.” Neptune searched his face for a moment before holding out his hand.

“I’ll take your bag and let her know as soon as I see her,” he promised. Sun smiled gratefully as he handed Neptune his bag.

“I appreciate it,” he said. Neptune returned his smile and nodded. 

“It’s what I’m here for. I’ll see you later at the house.” Sun nodded. He waited until Neptune disappeared into the crowd before he left the train station.

It was strange to be back in Vale. Ever since his relationship with Blake ended, he hadn’t really been back save for a few hours if he was passing through for a mission. There had been some changes to the city, new shops, missing buildings. He wondered if the teashop he and Blake frequented was still around. 

Sun looked around as he let his feet carry him down the familiar streets to Beacon. He tried to sort through his thoughts, trying to make any sort sense of the mess going through his head. He had no idea what he was going to say to Blake ~~when~~ if he saw her. If he was being honest, he didn’t even know what he would feel when he saw her. Would he look at her and see he still loved her? Or would he look at her and realize she was no longer the stars and the moon?

He gave his head a shake. There was no point in over thinking this. Whatever happened would happen. He could hope for the best and he wouldn’t be surprised if the worst happened.

Sun looked up as the sound of rushing water reached his ears. 

Beacon.

The fountain.

It seemed like it was just yesterday that he had come here and seen Blake remove her bow.

He let out a quiet sigh as he walked the last few steps to the fountain. There were a few students milling about. Most of them would be inside having lunch right now.

Sun sat down on the edge, facing the main walkway. 

All that was left to do now was wait and hope.


	2. Chapter 2

“Hey, do you know where Ruby is?” Yang asked as she came out of the hallway.

“She left awhile ago with Weiss. Weiss said something about taking care of some more of the wedding shopping,” Blake replied as she looked up from her book. “Why? What’s up?”

“Ah…” Yang started but trailed off. She glanced at Blake before fixating her gaze on the ceiling. “I have something to tell you.” Blake’s eyebrows furrowed. What could she possibly have to say that would have Yang so nervous?

“What is it?” she prompted. Yang glanced at her again.

“The guys are arriving today.” Blake’s heart stopped. There was only one “guys” Yang could be referring to. Yang looked to Blake when she didn’t say anything. “Ruby barely let me know last night,” she explained. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to tell you since she told me.”

“That’s a week early. Why are they here a week early?” Blake managed to get out. She was trying to keep calm, but she knew no matter what, Yang would be able to pick up on her panic. 

A week early. 

She was going to have to see Sun a week early.

She wasn’t ready.

Ever since Weiss had announced her engagement to Neptune, Blake had been stressed about what it meant. It meant she’d have to come face to face with Sun after four years. She was happy for her friend, she knew how in love Weiss was with Neptune, but a part of Blake wanted to be selfish and take no part in the wedding. 

She didn’t want to have to see Sun. She had spent so long and so much energy staying away from him and now all that work was going to go down the drain. So when she finally came to terms with the fact that she was going to have to see him and be around him, Blake started to stress. How was she going to act? Would she avoid him? Avoid talking to and looking at him at all costs? And if she did talk to him, what was she going to say?

Blake knew it was something she was going to stress about up until the very moment she saw him. And now that Yang was telling her they had come in a week early, it felt like the earth was knocked out from underneath her. _What was she going to say?_

“Nep wanted to help Weiss out a little more now that the wedding is only three weeks away so he figured they’d come in a week earlier to do so,” Yang explained. Her violet eyes were still searching Blake’s face, trying to gauge exactly how distressed she was. Blake swallowed the lump in her throat.

“What time are they supposed to be here?” she asked. She glanced to the door as if they were going to come in right that second. Yang looked to the clock on the wall.

“Their train should’ve gotten here about an hour ago, so I’d say in about twenty minutes.” Blake’s stomach dropped. She had twenty minutes to prepare herself. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you sooner,” Yang apologized.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I understand,” Blake dismissed absentmindedly, looking back down at her book. What was she going to say?

Blake’s attention snapped to the door when the sound of a key jingling the lock sounded. A second later, it opened to reveal Weiss and Ruby with three familiar boys behind them.

“Hey, guys!” Yang greeted brightly as she went over to them. Blake was hardly aware of the greetings exchanged as she searched the small group. Her heart was pounding and it nearly stopped when she realized she didn’t see a fourth, blond head with them. She looked again, but sure enough, Sun wasn’t with them.

“Hey, Blake!” Scarlet greeted, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked to the redheaded boy and blinked.

“Uh, hey!” Blake said, trying to return his smile.

“Long time no see.” He came over and hugged her.

“Yeah, it’s been awhile,” she said distractedly as she searched the small group again.

“How have you been?” Sage asked when he went to hug her. 

“I’ve been well. And you?”

“Been good besides this guy,” he replied, jerking his thumb back at Neptune, “suddenly deciding we’re coming in a week early.”

“It was planned, thank you very much,” Neptune retorted as he nudged Sage out of the way. All it took was one look from Blake and he knew exactly what she was wondering. “He said he’d be down at the fountain in front of Beacon,” he told her, his voice quiet. “He said he’d be down there for a little while if, you know, you wanted to go down there to see him.”

Blake glanced to the side to see Yang watching them. She looked back to Neptune.

“Thank you. If anyone asks, can you tell them I went out for a little bit?” she asked. Neptune nodded. She gave him a tight smile before slipping past him. She wasn’t going to give herself a chance to think about what she was doing.

But once she was outside, it was all Blake could think about. What _was_ she doing? She hadn’t seen Sun in four years let alone talk to him. And here she was, running to him as soon as Neptune told her he was waiting for her. She didn’t even have anything to say to him. Would he even have to have anything to say to her? He must have if he wanted to see her. He could have easily just had this confrontation in front of everyone. Sun must’ve had a reason to specifically ask to see just her.

What would he tell her? Make small talk about the weather? Ask about recent missions? Tell her he wouldn’t be moving with his team to Vale like Neptune had told them they would?

Tell her he’s found someone else?

Blake immediately shoved that thought out of her head. She didn’t care if he had someone else. She had broken up with him. He had every right to find happiness somewhere else.

But she should turn back. She shouldn’t go see him. She should just go back to the house. But going back meant answering awkward questions. Going back could mean a disappointing look from Neptune and she didn't want to disappoint him.

She had managed to stay good friends with the blue haired boy despite breaking his best friend’s heart. Blake would usually be the one to hang out with Neptune or pick him up from the airport or train station whenever Weiss got caught up in business for the Schnee company. It was a little awkward at first, especially when Blake first broke up with Sun. But it was eventually smoothed over and Blake was glad to still have his friendship. And even though she tried hard not to think about Sun, Neptune was kind enough to slip in kernels of information here and there throughout their conversations to let her know he was still doing well.

Blake looked up when the sound of rushing water reached her ears. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t realized she had arrived at Beacon. She swallowed hard when she saw someone sitting on the edge of the fountain.

It was Sun.

Sun was waiting for her.


	3. Chapter 3

Ah shit.

That was the sole thought in Sun’s head when he saw Blake. His heart started pounding as she neared.

“I knew you’d only look even better a few years down the line,” he suddenly blurted out once she was in hearing distance. She stopped and looked at him. “I mean, uh, hey,” he said as he stood up. In spite of herself, Blake couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“Hey,” she greeted in return. Despite her slight smile, she was still stopped a few feet away from, further than was comfortable.

“How’ve you been?” Sun wanted to close some of the distance between them, but he remained where he was. If she wanted to keep away, he’d let her.

“I’ve been good. You?” He shrugged.

“Pretty good. Just been spending most of my days on missions with the guys.” An awkward silence fell between them. Blake glanced off to the side.

“So is there a reason you wanted to see me?” she finally asked, looking back at him. Sun’s eyebrows rose.

“Reason? Not really. I just thought you’d be more comfortable if this didn’t happen while we were around everyone,” he replied. Blake’s eyes narrowed slightly. She had half a mind to tell him he didn’t have to care anymore whether or not she was comfortable, but she didn’t want to start a fight. “So we’ll be okay being around each other for the wedding? Things won’t be awkward?” Sun said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Why wouldn’t we? We’ve had four years to get over each other,” Blake said with a shrug. “We can handle being around each other.” Sun managed to stop the wince threatening to come up. Even though he was still in love with her, he thought he had come to terms with the fact that they had broken up. But damn did it hurt like hell to hear Blake talk about their break up like it had been nothing to her.

Blake glanced down when she noticed the sharp flick of his tail. She swallowed down the lump in her throat.

“I just wanted to make sure we were good,” he said. Blake nodded.

“We’re good.” She glanced back. She needed to be done with this conversation. She didn’t know what she would say if they kept talking. “I think we should head back to the house. They’ll probably start wondering where we are.”

“You go ahead. I have to go somewhere real quick,” Sun said. Blake nodded again.

“I’ll see you back at the house then.”

“Hey, Blake?” he called when she started walking away. Blake turned back. “Is there any chance we could, you know, be friends again?” She gave him a searching look.

“Friends,” she echoed. He nodded. “I think so,” she finally answered. He couldn’t stop the relieved smile that appeared on his face. Friends. She was at least willing to be friends. He hadn’t lost her completely.

Blake gave him another look before she turned and walked away. Sun watched her leave, a familiar ache in his chest. Despite the hopeful note they just left on, he couldn’t help but remember the last time he had seen her walk away. It wasn’t long after that she had stopped talking to him.

Sun glanced back at the fountain before he started walking back into the city. He had one last thing to do before he went back to Team RWBY’s house.

He had to see if the teashop was still there.

He needed reassurance that he and Blake could be friends again. She had said there was a chance, but that also meant there was a chance they couldn’t be. He hated the awkwardness between them even if Blake said things were good with them. He wanted to be able to talk to her again. He wanted things to be like they had first been between them.

It took a little work with all the changes Vale had undergone, but Sun eventually found himself on the right path to the teashop. There were enough familiar shops left to tell him he was headed the right way.

After a few minutes of walking, Sun slowed down as he looked around. He saw no sign of the teashop at all. He frowned slightly. He was on the right street, wasn’t he? But where was the teashop? He looked across the street as if the teashop would appear over there. His frown deepened. Maybe he had the wrong street.

Sun walked into the small bookstore to his right. A bell chimed to announce his entrance. A woman appeared in the doorway behind the counter.

“Good afternoon!” she greeted brightly. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“I had a quick question,” Sun said as he walked up to the counter. “I haven’t been here in a couple of years and I was looking for a specific teashop. I don’t remember the name of it, but I think it was on this street and I remember it had a balcony overlooking the street. Do you know anything about it?”

“Oh, I know the exactly what you’re talking about. It used to be right next door. It was torn down a few years ago,” the woman said, pointing to the wall to the right. Sun followed her gesture as if he could see through the wall. His tail drooped and his shoulders sagged.

“A few years ago,” he echoed. He wondered if Blake knew. Sun gave the woman a smile when he turned back to her. “Thank you for your help.”

Outside, he crossed the street and turned back. It was no wonder he hadn’t been able to locate the teashop. In its place was a two-story nightclub. It was quiet right now, given that it was the middle of the afternoon.

Sun swallowed down the lump in his throat. So that was it. His last strongest tie to Blake was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

“Coming!” Neptune called when there was a knock on the door. Sun looked up when it opened. “I was starting to wonder where you were,” Neptune said, stepping back.

“I had to go somewhere before I came back here,” Sun told him. Neptune gave him a curious look.

“Where’d you have to go?”

“The teashop.” Sun paused, glancing down at his feet. “It got torn down.” Neptune glanced down the hall. Everyone, including Blake, was in the dining room.

“How’d everything go?” he asked, looking back to Sun. The monkey faunus winced slightly. “That bad?”

“It could’ve been worse,” Sun replied. “She at least said there’s chance we could be friends again. But not without reminding me that we were done a long time ago.” It was Neptune’s turn to wince.

“Are you okay?” Sun smiled.

“Yeah, I’m good. She said things were good between us, but things are still gonna be a little weird until we get used to being around each other.”

“If it’s of any help, she’s already getting back into the swing of things with Sage and Scarlet and she’s hardly talked to them either. When she came back in earlier, she went straight to them and they’ve been talking almost non-stop.”

“That’s a little helpful.” While he wished it was _him_ she was talking to non-stop, Sun understood it was easier for her to talk to Sage and Scarlet than it was to talk to him. She had been close with them when she and Sun had dated; she still talked to them every now and then after they had broken up but not as much as she spoke to Neptune.

Neptune chuckled as Weiss peeked out from the dining hall and asked, “Nep, who was at the door?”

“Just Sun,” Neptune replied. His smile warmed when he turned to his soon-to-be wife. “We’ll be there in a sec.”

He turned back to Sun, but before he could say anything, Sun said, “Really, I’m fine. You don’t have anything to worry about.” Neptune gave Sun a scrutinizing look, unsure of whether or not to believe him. While Sun was always honest with him, Neptune wouldn’t put it past him to lie to him about how well his conversation with Blake went if it had gone terribly. That is until Sun would drag him out for a middle of the night conversation where he would admit that it had all gone horribly wrong and it tore him apart.

But Neptune could find no hint of a lie in Sun’s face and a glance to his tail gave nothing away. So Neptune finally smiled and nodded.

“Let’s get back to dinner then,” he said.

In the dining room, the girls were laughing at something that Scarlet was saying as the red haired boy gestured widely and wildly. As Sun slid into a seat between Sage and Neptune, a plate was slid in front of him. He looked across the way to see Blake giving him a small nod before refocusing her attention on Scarlet.

 

Later that night, a knock sounded on Blake’s door.

“Come in!” she called as she set down her book. “Hey, Yang,” she greeted when the blonde girl walked in. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to talk to you about earlier, when you went to talk to Sun,” Yang replied as she took a seat on the edge of Blake’s bed. Blake shrugged.

“It was fine. Nothing major,” Blake said with a shrug. Yang raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

“Blake, you went off to go talk to the guy that you loved and haven’t spoken to in years. You can’t seriously expect me to think that conversation was just fine.” Blake rolled her eyes.

“Do you want me to tell you there was yelling? Crying? Confessions made?” Blake set down her book. “Because none of that happened. We talked, he asked if we were okay, I said we can handle being around each other, he asked if we could be friends again, I said I think we could. Then I left and he went off to whatever he had to do before he came back here.” Yang frowned as she searched every inch of Blake’s face. There was no way that could have been all that happened. They had far too much history to have a conversation that civil and calm.

“That was really it?” she finally asked. Blake nodded.

“That was really it. There was no yelling or crying. Just Sun making sure we were fine being around each other.” She really should have been saying he was making sure she was okay being around him.

From the moment he told her he asked to see just her because he knew she’d be uncomfortable having their first encounter in front of everyone, Blake knew Sun was putting her first. Even after four years and breaking his heart, Sun was still putting her first.

“And are you going to try to be friends with him again? It won’t be weird?”

“I’d like to try at least.” Blake looked down at her lap. “I’ve missed him, you know? It was nice having someone who I knew I could talk to whenever and about whatever.”

“And what am I? Chopped liver?” Blake rolled her eyes again, but the smile on her face softened the gesture. Yang grinned.

“You know what I mean,” Blake said. “Things were different with him than it was with you or even with Ruby or Weiss.”

“Well I think it’d be good for you to have those guys again,” Yang said as she stood up. “You were close to them and I know it was hard when you stopped talking to them. So really try to fix things with Sun.” Blake smiled slightly.

“I will.”


	5. Chapter 5

A yawn stretched Sun’s mouth as he made his way to the kitchen. He scratched his head, further messing up his bed wrangled hair. He entered the empty kitchen and started rummaging around for the things he needed to make coffee. After a moment of contemplation, Sun decided to make a pot big enough to leave some for anyone who wanted any.

Sun glanced over to the stove as he started up the coffee machine and noticed the kettle on it. He glanced at the doorway before walking over and grabbing the kettle. If there was something Sun could count on remaining constant with Blake, it was that she’d much rather drink tea instead of coffee. Some more digging around and Sun was able to find the tea bags.

He set the kettle on the stove as the coffee machine beeped. He put together his cup of coffee, leaving a few mugs by the coffee machine. He walked out into the dining room and set his mug on the table. The kettle started going off. Sun glanced down the hall as he headed back into the kitchen. Blake appeared at the top of the stairs. She was too busy rubbing the sleep out of her eyes to see him as she started down the stairs.

Sun poured out some of the water into a cup and placed a tea bag in it. He walked back into the dining room in time to see Blake setting down his cup of coffee.

“Morning,” she said sleepily when she glanced back and saw him.

“Good morning. I have some tea for you,” he said, holding up the cup. She murmured a “thanks” as she took the mug from him. Blake slid into the seat across from Sun. Sun watched with an amused smile as she rested her head in her hands, clearly not ready to get going for the day. “Why are you up so early?” he asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Weiss asked me to go get some things we need to make some of the last decorations,” she replied as she straightened up. “Are you doing anything today?”

Sun tried not to sound surprised as he said, “I was just going to look at some houses with Sage and Scar later.”

“Did you guys want to come with me?” Blake focused on pulling out the tea bag. It felt weird to be asking him again if he wanted to do something. It would probably be awkward, but she had told herself and Yang that she would try to be friends with Sun again. “The rest of the girls are busy,” she continued. “Weiss is taking Nep to see the venue in person instead of through a video and Yang and Ruby are going to check on the florist and a couple of other things.” Blake glanced up at Sun in time to see his tail give a curious flick.

“Uh, sure. We’ve got some time before our first appointment,” Sun said. “Do you know how long we’ll be?”

“Just a couple of hours. We should be back by noon. I need to stop by the mission board anyways so I can’t take too long.” His head cocked to the side.

“What do you need a mission for? I don’t think Weiss would be too happy if you left for a mission this close to the wedding.”

“I’m just looking for a quick one. I’m a little short on the gift I’m getting her and Neptune so something solo that’s quick and easy would be enough.” Sun nodded as silence fell between them. It still felt awkward, but it wasn’t as bad as their meeting at the fountain.

“I thought I heard you two in here,” Sage said as he entered the dining room, a cup of coffee in his hands. “Isn’t it a bit early for you, Blake?”

“She’s gonna go get some stuff for Weiss and we’re going with her,” Sun told him. “Is Scarlet still sleeping?”

“I didn’t hear him moving around, so I’m gonna go with yes.”

“I’ll wake him up,” Blake said when Sun started getting up. Sun watched her leave. He felt a pair of eyes on him and he turned back to see Sage looking at him from over the top of his mug. Sage raised his eyebrows as he took a sip of coffee.

“Don’t even say it,” Sun said, pointing a finger at his teammate. Sage held up his free hand as if to say, “I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re the one jumping to conclusions.”

 

“I can’t wait for this wedding to be over,” Scarlet complained as he readjusted his grip on the bags in his hands.

“Don’t worry, this should be the last shopping trip we need to take,” Blake assured, adding an “excuse me” to the woman who stepped in front of her.

Downtown Vale was surprisingly busy for it being a Sunday morning. It hadn’t been a problem at first, but as they got more and more bags, it was becoming increasingly harder to navigate the crowds.

“Where are we headed to now?” Sage asked. “Sun, that is the third time you’ve hit me with that bag!” he added, throwing a glare at the blond boy.

“Someone bumped into me!” Sun defended but he still moved the bag away from Sage.

“I just have to stop by the mission board and then we can head back to the house,” Blake said.

A few more minutes of fighting through the crowd and they managed to get to the building that housed the mission board. Blake left her bags with Sun, Sage, and Scarlet before hurrying inside. The warmth of the building stung her wind bitten face and she let out a sigh of relief. She started searching the mission boards, looking for something she could handle on her own.

After reading through a few of them, Blake spotted one for place just outside the city. A family was having problems with a few grimm on their farm and needed them cleared out. It paid just enough to cover what she needed. Blake snagged it before anyone else had a chance to take it.

“Find something?” Sun asked when she came back outside. She nodded.

“I’m gonna head out as soon as we drop this stuff off,” she said as she picked up the bags she had left.

“Are you gonna need any back up?” Sage said.

“No, I can handle it. It’s just a couple of grimm that are bugging a family. It’s nothing major.” Sage glanced back at Sun and Sun gave him a tight smile.

“We’re back!” Blake called out half an hour later as she opened up the door to RWBY’s house.

“And it’d be nice if someone came to help us with all these bags!” Sun added as he walked in.

“You could at least say please,” Neptune said as he and Weiss came out of the living room.

“Did you find everything?” Weiss asked. She took a bag from Blake and peered into it.

“We found everything on your list and I bought a couple of extra things I think you might like,” Blake told her. Weiss smiled appreciatively.

“Thank you so much,” she said as she hugged Blake. Blake returned her smile.

“No problem.” Blake set down her bags in the living room. Scarlet let out an exaggerated groan as he dropped his and fell onto the couch. “I’m actually gonna head out on a quick mission. A family just outside of the city needs some help dealing with some grimm. I’ll be back some time tonight. Can you let Ruby and Yang know?”

“Sure thing. Need some dust?” The black-haired girl shook her head.

“I’m good.” She started to back out of the living room. “I’m gonna get going. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

 

Sun sat up when he heard the door open. A glance to the clock on top of the tv told him it was midnight. Sun glanced at Ruby, who was passed out on the other couch.

After Weiss had told her and Yang about Blake leaving on a mission, the young leader said she’d stay up to make sure Blake returned safely. It was a habit Ruby had started soon after they graduated from Beacon and began taking on the occasional solo mission. She had faith that her friends could handle themselves, but to ease her mind, she would stay up until she saw they had returned in one piece. Sun did the same for his team and so he decided he would stay up with Ruby to wait for Blake.

“Blake?” Sun called quietly. The only source of light was coming from the tv, but Sun was able to see clearly into the hallway. A moment later, Blake appeared in the doorway, limping. Sun stood up as he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a small cut on my leg,” Blake assured, leaning against the doorway. She glanced at Ruby. “She fell asleep, waiting?”

“Yeah, about half an hour ago.” Blake nodded as she pushed herself upright again. “Do you need some help?” Sun said when she started walking away. She shook her head.

“I’m fine. I can bandage it.” Sun watched her leave, his shoulders falling slightly. He looked to Ruby again, debating whether or not he should wake her and tell her Blake had returned. He sat back down, deciding he’d let Blake wake her leader.

In the bathroom, Blake clutched the edge of the sink as she reached up into the cabinet. She pulled down bandages and the alcohol, wincing as the movements sent jolts of pain up her leg. She glanced down at the wound.

It was bad timing on her part that gave her this wound. She hadn’t moved quick enough after finishing off an ursa and as it exploded, one of its spikes hit her leg as she flipped away. Blake hadn’t thought the injury was that bad; it had stung but it wasn’t crippling pain. After receiving her pay, Blake started her journey back to the city. It wasn’t until she was almost back in the city that she had started limping and she looked down to see that blood soaked her leggings. But Blake had decided to suck it up and make her way back to the house before dealing with it.

Blake sat down on the toilet and took off her shoes. She winced again as she started to roll up her leggings and peeled the blood-soaked material away from the wound. One look at the wound and she knew she wouldn’t be able to bandage it herself. She glanced back at the doorway. She could wake up Ruby, but she didn’t want to cause her friend any panic when she told her she was injured. Blake let out a sigh.

“Sun?” she called out. A heartbeat later, the blond boy was at the doorway. She looked up at him. “I need help.”

“Come out here to the couch. It’ll be easier,” he said. He stepped into the bathroom. He started to reach to help her but stopped, unsure if it that was okay with her. Instead, Sun took the bandages and alcohol from her.

He watched Blake push herself to her feet and limp her way back to the living room. She gingerly lay down on the couch that Sun had vacated. Sun stopped at the doorway, glancing at Ruby again.

“Do you want me to get Ruby to do this for you?” he offered. Blake shook her head.

“I don’t want to worry her.”

Sun kneeled beside her legs and set to work. Blake focused her gaze on the tv, trying not to think about the boy at the other end of the couch.

“Bad timing?” Sun asked as he started to wipe away the dried blood. Blake’s leg jerked away when he neared the cut. He set a hand at the top of her calf, immediately stilling her leg. Blake swallowed, telling herself she only found his touch calming because of the pain she was in.

“Yeah. I didn’t move quick enough,” she replied, wincing as Sun wiped near the cut again. “How bad is it?”

“Not bad actually. It’s not that deep. I think you just aggravated since you walked so much on it without bandaging it.”

“I didn’t want to deal with finding someone to just bandage it.” Sun shook his head.

“Next time at least bandage it enough so you don’t ruin more clothes.” Blake glanced back at him to see him smiling teasingly at her. She gave him a small smile in return as she turned back to the tv. Sun grabbed the bandages and started wrapping her calf. He tried to move as quickly as he could without reopening the little of the wound that had managed to heal.

“Sun?” Ruby sleepily said as she lifted her head.

“Right here, Rubes,” he replied. “Blake’s back too.” Ruby focused blearily on Blake, not noticing Sun bandaging her leg.

“Everything okay, Blake?”

“Everything’s good. You can go to bed,” Blake told her. Ruby let out a yawn as she got to her feet. She murmured a good night that Sun and Blake echoed. Blake glanced at Sun when Ruby left.

“There. You’re all set,” Sun said after securing the bandage. He collected the left over supplies as Blake sat up, stretching her leg.

“Thank you,” she said as Sun stood up. He smiled down at her.

“It’s the least I could do.” He looked down at the bandages, fiddling with the loose end. “Uh, I’m gonna head to bed now. You okay to get to your room?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Sun nodded.

“I’ll see you in the morning then.” Blake gave him a quiet “good night” as he left the living room. She looked back to the tv and sighed.


	6. Chapter 6

“Neptune and the boys are here, right?” Weiss asked, looking at Yang as best she could without disturbing the hairstylist.

“They got here half an hour ago. They should be almost done getting ready,” Yang replied, stopping as the makeup artist went to apply some lipstick.

“Can someone go check on them please?”

“I’ll do it. I’m done getting ready,” Blake said as she stood up. She moved carefully through the room, making sure not to disturb any of the laid out make up or hair styling tools.

The big day was finally here and it had been chaos all morning. The girls had been a few minutes late leaving the house, but luckily Ruby was able to make sure Weiss kept calm. They hadn’t seen the boys before they left, but Yang had been in constant contact with Sage to make sure they stayed on time. The girls had been at the venue where the ceremony and reception would be held at for about two hours now, making sure everything was set before they got settled in to get ready.

Blake picked up the skirt of her floor length ice blue dress as she headed down the hall to the room where SSSN was supposed to be. She knocked and a few seconds later, Sage opened the door.

“Scarlet and I are all set. Sun’s been too busy helping Neptune get ready to finish getting ready himself,” he said, immediately knowing why Blake was there.

“I’ll help Sun and you finish Neptune?” Blake assumed.

“Please.” She laughed slightly as she walked into the room. It was similar to the room the girls were in except smaller and much less crowded. Scarlet lounged on the couch, smoothing out invisible wrinkles from his pants. Across the room, Sun and Neptune stood in front of a mirror. Sun was making sure Neptune’s shoulders were smooth and wrinkle-free as Neptune made sure the buttons were all done correctly. “Sun, get your jacket on. I’ll help Nep finish getting ready,” Sage said as he grabbed Sun’s neglected jacket off the couch.

“Where’s my tie?” Sun asked as he came over and slipped on his jacket.

“Over here,” Scarlet replied and tossed him the tie in question. “And here I thought I was the scatterbrained one.”

“Well sorry I’ve been busy helping someone else get ready instead of just sitting around!” Scarlet tossed one of the pillows on the couch at Sun, but he swatted it away.

“Need some help?” Blake offered, bringing his attention to her. Sun grinned sheepishly.

“That would probably be faster.” She smiled slightly as she took the tie from him. “Is Weiss all set?”

“Just about. She was half way through with getting her hair done when I left and after that, she just has to put on her dress.” Blake glanced over at Neptune. Sage was speaking quietly to him, no doubt making sure his friend was as calm as possible. “How’s Neptune?”

“Nervous but excited. He just wants today to go perfectly for Weiss.” Sun glanced back at the blue-haired boy and smiled fondly. “He could hardly shut up when I was with him. It’s a wonder that Sage has him quiet.”

“Sage does have that affect on people.” Blake gave the tie one last tug, making sure it was snug. She stepped back to admire her work. “There. I knew you’d look better in a tie.” Sun flashed her a look but said nothing. “Uhm, Scarlet, do you need help with anything?” Blake suddenly asked.

“I could use some help putting this flower on,” the red-haired boy said, holding up one of three snow white calla lilies. Blake went to help him, leaving Sun to button up his suit jacket. He looked at them as he did the last button. Blake let out a laugh as Scarlet smiled. Blake said something that prompted a head shake from Scarlet. Blake returned the gesture as she stood up. She grabbed another calla lily and a pin and made her way back to Sun.

She held up the two pieces wordlessly and Sun nodded.

“Sorry,” she finally said after a moment. Sun looked at her, but Blake had her gaze focused on what her hands were doing.

“For what?” he asked. Blake dared to glance at him but his face gave away nothing.

“Earlier. It just slipped out.” Sun gave a shrug that was almost too nonchalant.

“You don’t have to apologize. We’re supposed to be trying to be friends, remember? Friends can compliment each other.” She looked at him and he offered her a smile. She gave him a small one in return before she went to get the third flower for Sage.

Sun sat down on the couch beside Scarlet. He let out a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

“I think you’ll need a drink when we get to the party,” Scarlet said. Sun snorted.

“Make it two and you’ve got yourself a date.” Sun held up his fist and Scarlet chuckled as he bumped the back of his fist against Sun’s.  
*

Sun looked around the reception hall as he waited for a drink from the bartender. He caught sight of Ruby and Yang dancing with Pyrrha and Jaune. Off to the side, at a table on the edge of the dance floor, Sage sat at a table with Ren and Nora, laughing. Weiss and Neptune were towards the back of the hall, talking with Winter. Sun frowned slightly as he gave the room another sweep. The frown disappeared when he spotted Blake. She was sitting at a table near the bar, smiling fondly at her friends on the dance floor.

“Here you go,” the bartender said, finally sliding Sun the shot he had requested a few minutes ago. Sun dropped a tip into the jar as he downed the drink. It burned all the way down to his stomach and he gave his head a shake. He might be done drinking for the night. His eyes drifted back to Blake and before he knew it, he was walking over to the black-haired girl.

“Hey,” Sun greeted as he slid into the open seat beside her. She raised her eyebrows slightly.

“Hey,” she greeted in return. “Enjoying yourself?” Sun grinned and nodded.

“It’s been a hell of a party! I was actually wondering if-“ he started but he was cut off by Scarlet appearing and yelling, “Blake, love!”

“Can I help you, Scar?” she asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

“Let’s hit the dance floor!” he said, taking Blake’s hands and pulling her to her feet. Blake glanced back at Sun, waving. Sun returned her wave half-heartedly, suddenly feeling like he wanted to leave. But he couldn’t, so he stayed put.

“Scarlet, slow down!” Blake laughed after nearly tripping on her dress.

“There is no slowing down!” Scarlet chided as he threw Blake into a spin. “You’ve been sitting down for most of the night and you need to move!”

Scarlet kept her on the dance floor for a few songs, pulling her back every time Blake tried to walk away. And as much as she wanted to go back and sit in her corner and watch everyone else, Blake knew it was better to get up and enjoying herself. The entire time she had been sitting around, Blake couldn’t stop thinking about the look Sun had given her that morning.

But now the music was slowing down and Scarlet was telling her he was going to get another drink. Blake turned, ready to take a break, but she stopped. Sun stood in front of her, his hand held out.

“For old time’s sake?” he asked, smiling softly. Blake’s heart skipped a beat, but she dismissed it. He startled her, that’s all.

But Blake still nodded and placed her hand in his. Sun’s other hand went to her waist as he pulled her close. He kept his hold loose, an open invitation to leave should she want to. Blake rested her cheek against his shoulder. He had abandoned his jacket and tie the moment he was able to, leaving him only in a white shirt. The top two buttons were undone, giving Blake a glance at a chest she had spent so much time admiring.

She pushed those thoughts out of her head. They were just trying to be friends, nothing more.

But she wasn’t sure if Sun remembered that and so she said, “Sun… I just wanted to make it clear that nothing can happen between us again. We can be friends again, I’d love to be friends with you again. But what we had… It’s done.” She felt his heart skip a beat as his grip on her tightened briefly.

“I know,” he finally said after a moment, his voice breaking.

“I’m sorry. I’m just…”

“It’s okay. I don’t need to know. You have your reasons and it’s good enough for me.” Blake fought the urge to look up at him and instead pressed her face into his shoulder. He wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or what, but Sun said screw it to the few barriers he had put up for Blake. He let go of her hand and wrapped both arms around her waist, pulling her close. He felt her arms wrap around his neck as he buried his face into her hair.

After a long minute that felt more like five seconds, the song started winding down. Blake started pulling away and she finally found the courage to look at Sun. He was trying not to show it, but she could see he was hurting. Not knowing what else to do, Blake stretched up on the tips of her toes, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m sorry,” she said again, resting her temple against his. Her hands rested against his chest. “But at least we can be friends.”

“Yeah. Friends,” he echoed. Blake pulled away, but Sun caught one of her hands as she pulled them away from his chest. Before she could ask what he was doing, Sun brought her hand to his lips and pressed a lingering kiss to it. He met her gaze as he let go of her hand. “Can you promise me one thing though?” he asked, his voice slightly hoarse. She raised an eyebrow. “Please stick around this time.” Her gaze softened as she nodded.

“I’m not going anywhere.” 


	7. Chapter 7

Sun groaned as soon as he was aware of the pounding in his head. He grabbed a pillow and pressed it against his face.

“About time you get up,” he heard Sage say. Sun pulled away the pillow just enough to look at him with one eye. He sat up when he saw Sage had a glass of water in hand.

“What time is it?” Sun asked.

“Almost eleven,” Sage replied as he handed Sun the water and aspirin. “I told you last night you shouldn’t have had that last drink.” Sun gave him a one eyed glare as he downed the water.

After his conversation with Blake, Sun had found Scarlet and proceeded to have just a few more drinks. Sun wasn’t really one to get drunk; the most he’d do is have a few drinks with the boys with the occasional night of having a bit too much. But last night, he needed something to take away some of the sting of Blake’s words. He still remembered everything that happened the rest of the night, but at least it didn’t hurt as much to look at Blake.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t feel like listening, Mom,” Sun replied as Neptune walked into the room.

“You’re up just in time, Sunshine!” Neptune greeted, sitting on the edge of Sun’s bed. “I’ve got a few minutes before Weiss and I leave for our honeymoon, so you need to talk.”

“About?” the blond boy asked as if he didn’t know what Neptune could be referring to. And Sage said as much.

“Don’t play stupid, Sun,” the green-haired boy chided. “Nep and I saw what happened with Blake. You guys were talking, kisses were exchanged, then you go get drunk. What happened?”

Sun threw himself back with a heavy sigh. He covered his eyes with his arm, squeezing his eyes shut against the ache in his heart.

“I asked her to dance for old time’s sake and while we were dancing… She wanted to make it clear that we had before was done. She said we could be friends, but that was it.” Sage glanced at Neptune. They had figured as much had happened, especially after Sun headed straight for the bar, but it was a whole different thing to actually hear their friend say it out loud.

“And everything after that?” Neptune prompted quietly. Sun shrugged.

“I don’t really know. She kissed my cheek, I kissed her hand, and… That was that. She went off to do whatever for the rest of the reception and I went off to have a couple of drinks.” He couldn’t bring himself to tell them about what he had asked of from Blake. It wasn’t a big deal, but for some reason he wanted to keep it just between them. “I’m surprised it still hurts,” Sun continued. He kept his eyes covered. He didn’t want to see the looks on Sage and Neptune’s faces. “I thought I was okay with the fact that Blake had broken up with me. I know I’ll always love her, but to hear her say that. It somehow hurts worse this time around.”

“Were you, you know, hoping you could get back with her?” Sage asked. His voice was low, quiet. Sun shrugged again.

“A foolish part of me hoped. I knew the chances were slim, but I was still dumb enough to hope.” Sun finally uncovered his eyes and sat up again. “But whatever,” he dismissed as he stood up. “At least we can still be friends. She’s not cutting me out again.” Sage and Neptune watched their friend head into the bathroom.

“And somehow I was foolish enough to hope that them being around each other would go well and we’d avoid this,” Sage said.

“This was coming from a mile away,” Neptune said. “You know Blake and how she is. Even if she’s still in love-“

“If?” Sage interrupted. “It’s plain as day that she still is. She’s just trying to hide it and tell herself she isn’t.” Neptune rolled his eyes.

“I was trying to be considerate and believe her when she says that what they had is done.”

“Neptune, trying to say that Blake and Sun don’t love each other anymore is like saying you don’t love your goggles.”

“Thanks for saying I love my goggles more than my wife.”

“I mean, it’s plausible,” Sage said as he turned to leave the room. He laughed when he felt a pillow hit his back.  
*

“Have fun on your trip!” Yang called as she shut the cab door.

“Take lots of pictures!” Ruby called, waving goodbye. Blake laughed slightly as the cab finally pulled away.

“So can we throw a party yet?” Sun asked as he came bounding out of the house.

“We should wait for them to be in the air before we do that,” Yang said with a laugh. “We have to make sure Weiss isn’t within driving distance when the house gets ruined.”

“But she doesn’t live here anymore, does she? She and Nep are moving out when they get back.”

“But as long as her stuff is here, she still lives here,” Ruby reminded. “So we gotta wait before we try to give her a heart attack.”

“She’s not the only one who would try to stop the party,” Blake chimed in. She smirked when Yang looked at her in faux-shock.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Yang said. But the shock quickly turned into a grin. “You’d just help keep it in control.”

Blake shook her head as she headed back into the house. She caught Sun’s eye as she passed by him. She gave him a slight smile, which he returned.

Friends, he reminded himself. They could be friends again.


	8. Chapter 8

“Remind me again why we aren’t waiting until Neptune gets back to move out here?” Scarlet asked.

“Like every other time you’ve asked, because we’ve already sold the place so we need to get out,” Sun replied as he poured some creamer into his coffee.

“So we’re left to move Neptune’s shit too?”

“Because it would totally make sense to take all of our stuff and just leave Neptune’s stuff until he gets back,” Sage said sarcastically as he spread some jam on a slice of toast.

“You’re full of complaints this morning, aren’t you?” Yang interjected when Scarlet went to say something else.

“Someone has to complain.”

“No one has to do anything,” Ruby said and Scarlet’s eyes lit up. “No, you still have to help,” she added once she realized what he would try to say. He pouted.

“It’s one day. You’ll live,” Sun said as his tail tapped Scarlet’s shoulder.

“Well there I’ll complain with Scar,” Sage said. “I will be very surprised if we get any sleep in the next twenty four hours. Three hours of traveling back to Mistral, spending all day packing, and then coming right back. We aren’t gonna have any time to sleep.”

“That’s what the flights are for.”

“Fall out of bed, Blake?” Yang asked when the black-haired girl trudged into the kitchen. Blake gave her partner a sleepy glare as she came to a stop next to Sun.

“I had an alarm, thank you very much,” she said. She took his cup of coffee and took a sip before handing it back to him.

“I don’t understand her,” Scarlet said when Blake headed into the kitchen. Sun glanced at the others before looking to Scarlet; Sage had gotten Ruby and Yang into a conversation.

“What are you talking about?” Sun asked.

“Blake. She’s weird. One minute she’s barely holding a polite conversation with you and the next she’s drinking from your coffee like she used to when you guys were dating.” Sun shrugged.

“She just wants things to be good between us again. She wants to be friends and this is her trying.” Scarlet shook his head.

“I take it back. She’s not weird. You both are.”  
*

“Where are they? They were supposed to be here before the trucks were,” Ruby said as she lugged in yet another box.

“Sage just messaged me. Their plane barely landed,” Blake told her as she set down a heavy box in the empty living room.

“Good. They’ll get here just in time to bring in all the furniture themselves because there is no way we’re doing that,” Yang huffed, sitting down on the floor. Blake nudged Yang with her foot.

“And how exactly are they going to get here?”

“I told him they can take a cab.”

“So we can take a break!” Ruby exclaimed as she threw herself onto the floor. Blake shook her head as she went into the kitchen. She grabbed a few water bottles of the fridge that had just been delivered. Her stomach growled when she saw the empty fridge.

She headed back to the living room and tossed a bottle to Yang. She went to toss one to Ruby but saw the younger girl had fallen asleep.

“I’m starving,” Yang said as Blake sat down. “We should get food when the guys get here.”

“Or we can make them pick it up since we’ve been bringing in all their stuff for them and we bought them cleaning supplies,” Blake suggested after taking a swig from her bottle.

“Oh, I like the way you think, Belladonna.” Blake laughed as she stretched out on the floor. “Taking a nap?” Yang asked and Blake shook her head.

“Just closing my eyes for a moment.”

But next thing Blake knew, she was being shaken awake. She opened her eyes a sliver, but they shot open when she realized someone was crouched in front of her. Blake flinched back as they raised their hand. In the next second, she realized it was Sun, and his friendly smile had fallen into a nervous one.

“Everything okay?” Sun asked, his eyebrows furrowing. Blake glanced behind him, trying to tell herself she was safe, her friends were safe.

“Yeah, everything’s okay,” she finally replied as she sat up. “How long was I asleep?”

“Maybe forty minutes. We just got back from the airport and we brought food.” Blake didn’t look at Sun as she smoothed down her hair but she could feel his worried stare searching her face.

“Are you sure-“ Sun started but Blake cut him off with a sharp, “I’m fine.” She felt bad when a flicker of hurt passed over Sun’s face. “I’m fine,” she repeated more gently.

Sun still wasn’t fully convinced, but he nodded anyways. If she wanted to talk, she’d come to him. It had always been that way and he wouldn’t start forcing her to talk now.

“If you guys don’t get over here in the next thirty seconds, I’m eating your food!” Yang threatened.

“I think if you eat Blake’s food, she might eat you,” Sun chuckled when Blake’s stomach growled.

“Correction then: I’ll eat your food. Blake’s food will be safe.” Sun shook his head as he stood up. He offered his hand to Blake, which, to his surprise, she took.

As they ate and chatted about where everything was gonna go, Blake felt Sun watching her. Whenever she looked at him, he’d hurriedly look away. She knew he was still worrying about her. When Blake finally managed to catch his eye, she gave him a smile, which he returned. She wanted him to know she was okay. Well, as okay as she could be after a nightmare involving Sun and Adam.

But she didn’t want to think about it, so she pushed it to the back of her mind.

“Where do you want this?” she asked, holding up a framed picture of all four of the boys at their graduation day.

“That one goes above the fireplace,” Sun said, pointing with his tail.

“Kitchen’s all set,” Yang announced as she and Ruby came back into the living room.

“Can you check on Scar? He’s been in his room a long time and there’s no way it’s taken him this long to unpack,” Sage said

“Got it!” Ruby said before heading back into the hallway.

Sun glanced over at Blake as she pulled another picture out of the box. She paused, her eyebrows furrowing. He couldn’t quite make out the expression on her face. He glanced at her cat ears in time to see them twitch. She looked up and met his gaze. He knew the question was obvious on his face.

“You still have this?” she asked, finally showing him the picture. It was one of them just after the ball during RWBY’s first year at Beacon.

It was the moment Sun realized he loved her.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” he replied. “We had a good time. I don’t want to forget that.” Blake looked at him for another moment before she looked back down.

“Where’d you want this?”

“You can set it in that box. I’ll find a place for it later.” Sun absentmindedly plucked a curtain out of the box in front of him and started unfolding it, but he was too busy watching Blake, trying to figure out what she was feeling. “Hey, Blake?” he said when she came back. She looked at him. “Did you want to get a bite to eat later?” He smiled sheepishly when her eyebrows rose. “I mean, we keep saying we’ll be friends but we hardly talk and friends talk.” Blake gave him another look before she nodded, earning a bright smile from Sun.

“Yeah, sure,” she said as she turned back to the box before her.

Dinner. Dinner would be normal.


	9. Chapter 9

Dinner, at first, was awkward.

If Blake were feeling brave enough, she’d even say it was like their first date. Awkward, nervous, unsure of what to talk about.

But at least now, the silence wasn’t as awkward as it had been when SSSN first arrived. It still wasn’t as easy and comfortable as it used to be for them and Sun still felt like he was sort of walking on egg shells around her, but at least now, neither of them were tense and at a total loss for words.

“Sounds like you guys had some fun since you graduated,” Sun finally said after poking at his sandwich for a few minutes. Since SSSN had arrived, the RWBY girls (or rather Yang and Ruby) had filled Sun, Scarlet, and Sage on all the details of their adventures in taking down Torchwick, Cinder, and the White Fang.

“If you call taking down criminals and protest groups gone awry fun, then yes we had plenty of fun,” Blake said. Sun chuckled.

“It’s a lot more exciting than most of the missions we’ve taken over the years.”

She gave him a strange look before she said, “You know, for all the White Fang activity we tracked, we never heard anything out of Mistral and we know they had activity in all of the kingdoms.” Sun’s gaze dropped to his sandwich. He took a bite to buy himself some time.

“It was important to you to stop them,” he finally explained. “So we did what we could. We took out any bases cropping up out there.” Something clicked in Blake’s brain.

“That’s why JNPR would go to Mistral sometimes,” she said. He nodded as he looked back up at her.

“We’d call them in for some of the bigger bases.” Blake’s gaze dropped to her own sandwich.

She wasn’t quite sure what to say. _It was important to you to stop them._ It’s what he said. They had gone after the White Fang because it was important to her.

Sun watched her, his tail flicking curiously. He knew she was trying to figure out why he and the boys had continued to combat the White Fang.

In reality, it hadn’t been just him wanting to do it. Yes, his main drive had been because it was important to Blake and so that made it important to him. But he, along with Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage, had also simply just wanted to help in making sure the White Fang didn’t get even more out of hand. And for those two reasons, they kept an eye on White Fang activity in Mistral and whenever they got word of any activity, they would be there to put a stop to it.

But now, at the café, Sun didn’t want Blake to dwell on his words. They were taking baby steps to repair their friendship. As much as he wanted to, they weren’t quite ready yet for him to confess how much he still loved her and if she continued to dissect why he chose those words specifically, he might have to.

And now, looking at her, there was one name Sun wanted to say to bring her attention back to him.

_Belle._

“Blake?” Sun said instead and Blake finally looked back to him.

“Oh, sorry. Just got distracted for a second,” she apologized, giving him a quick smile. She picked up her sandwich. “So tell me more about these boring missions of yours.”

These dinners soon became a weekly thing. Once a week, they would meet up and spend some time together. To Sun’s delight, Blake was more relaxed, more open with each meal. Her laughs and her smiles were coming easier.

Things weren’t so tense between them.

“I’ll be back. I’m going out with Sun,” Blake said, slipping on her jacket as she came into the living room. Yang looked up from her magazine.

“I take it things are going well for you guys then?” she asked. Blake smiled slightly, leaning against the doorframe.

“Yeah, they have,” she replied. “They’ve been going really well.” Yang smiled. She was happy to see Blake not so miserable these days.

“Good. While you’re with him, ask him if he and Nep are up for a mission with you and me. I picked up a mission for us earlier to clear out a pocket of grimm in the forest.”

“Where are Ruby and Weiss?”

“They went out on a mission with Jaune and Pyrrha. That’s why I figured Neptune would like to get out so he’s not at home moping.” Blake shook her head as she laughed.

“Go easy on the guy. He’s just in love,” she said. Yang rolled her eyes as she went back to her magazine.

“Whatever.” Blake shook her head again as she waved goodbye to Yang.

Outside, it was chilly and the wind nipped at Blake’s face. She was glad she had suggested a teashop near her shared house; she didn’t think she could stand walking any further.

She sighed in relief when she entered the warmth of the teashop. A quick scan of the dining room and Blake spotted Sun already seated at a table in the corner. There was a plate of food and a drink waiting for her.

“I was expecting you to cancel on me once you realized how cold it was,” Sun said by way of greeting when Blake slid into the empty chair across from him. He grinned.

“It’s not _that_ cold,” she retorted with a roll of her eyes.

“Say that to your pink face and chattering teeth.” He nudged her drink towards her. “Tea’s fresh and warm. Drink it before your face falls off from the cold.” She shook her head as she took a sip of the tea. She felt the warmth all the way down to her stomach where it spread and filled her whole body with warmth.

“Before I forget,” she said as she set down the cup of tea, “Yang asked if you and Neptune wanted to come with us on a mission she picked up earlier.”

“Sure thing. I think that’ll be good even if the asshole won’t admit he’s missing Weiss while she’s gone.”

“Leave the poor guy alone.” Sun snorted as he took a bite of his sandwich.

“Always gotta be the party pooper,” he muttered and Blake smiled. After a few minutes, Sun asked, “So why’d you pick this place anyways? Wanted to make me walk for once?” Blake shrugged.

“I saw it coming back from our dinner last week and I thought it would be nice to eat at.” Blake paused and glanced at Sun. “Especially since the old teashop was torn down.”

“I know,” was all Sun offered. Her eyebrows rose. She hadn’t expected him to know.

“When did you find out?”

“A few weeks ago. I stopped by and when I couldn’t find it, I asked a woman in a nearby store and she told me it was torn down.” Blake glanced down.

“I stopped by while it was being torn down,” she admitted. “It was strange to see it go.”

What she didn’t tell him was she stopped by _every day_ to see it torn down.

What she didn’t tell him was that when she saw it was getting torn down, she asked the owner if she could take one of the tables. She picked out the table she and Sun had usually sat at and now it was in her room, buried under a pile of books.

What she didn’t tell him was she thought of him every time she stopped by.

What she didn’t tell him was about the tears she shed when the final brick came down, the final sign that her relationship with Sun was done.

“It was strange to come back and see it gone,” Sun said, smiling slightly. It was tight and didn’t quite reach his eyes. Blake wondered what was going on in his head. He took a sip of his drink. “So what’s this mission Yang picked up?”


	10. Chapter 10

“Someone really needs to get this forest in check,” Neptune said as he swung at another bush with his guandao.

He, Sun, Blake, and Yang were making their way through the forest to the location the mission said the grimm were in. It hadn’t been long before Blake and Neptune had taken the lead to cut through the shrubbery blocking their path.

“It’s a forest, Neptune. Not a lawn,” Blake retorted, swinging her sword at a particularly thick bramble.

“But it would make our lives much easier if the forest was more orderly.”

“If you want to be fast, I could set the forest on fire,” Yang offered.

“Save the fire for the grimm,” Sun said. “We don’t need to worry about grimm _and_ a forest fire.”

“I was only trying to help.” Sun chuckled as he shook his head.

They made idle chitchat as they continued on, keeping an eye out for any sign of grimm. After what felt like a long while, Sun noticed Blake’s ears twitched. He instinctively started looking around more closely as Blake’s pace slowed.

“Has the party found us?” Yang asked, cocking her gauntlets. In the next second, a boarbatusk exploded out of the foliage near Neptune. The blue-haired boy managed to roll out of the way. He shifted his weapon back into a gun and fired at the offending boarbatusk.

“Party has definitely found us!” Sun said as he took out his staff. He gave it a few spins before swinging at an ursa that had joined the boarbatusk. “Move! We need to find somewhere we can move better!” Yang took off with Sun behind her as Blake and Neptune fired at the boarbatusk and ursa a few times before going after their partners.

Sun skidded to a stop when he burst into a clearing. Two more ursas, another boarbatusk, and a king taijitu were there.

With a yell, Yang rocketed past him and slammed into one of the ursas.

“Neptune, taijitu!” Sun called out when his partner joined him. Neptune didn’t need any more prompting before launching himself into the air, his gun shifting into a trident.

Blake tossed her gun at the other ursa charging Yang. The ribbon wrapped around its throat and Blake pulled. The ursa’s head went flying into the air.

Sun landed on the ground with a grunt as the king taijitu fell to the ground, dead. He picked himself up, gave his shoulder a quick roll, and his staff a spin as he charged at the remaining boarbatusk. A few swings and a few shots off from his gunchucks and the boarbatusk dropped.

His stomach dropped when he heard Yang yell, “Blake!” He spun around to see Blake crashing onto the ground, Gambol Shroud landing a few feet away from her. Yang started moving towards the ursa bearing down on Blake, but another ursa intercepted her.

“Nep, Yang!” Sun said. Sparing only enough of a glance to make sure Neptune headed towards Yang, Sun started towards Blake, who was struggling to pick herself up. Sun grabbed Gambol Shroud off the ground as he ran past it. He brushed his fingers along the handle, praying Blake had brought some of Weiss’ dust. Sure enough, he felt the vials of dust.

He slid in front of Blake as he swung Blake’s sword in a wide arc, sending a sheet of ice at the ursa. The ursa let out a frustrated roar as its lower half was frozen in place. Before Sun could finish it off, Yang launched herself at it. She fired her gauntlets as she landed a punch to the ursa’s face and an audible _crack_ sounded as the ursa slumped forward, dead.

Sun immediately turned back to Blake to see her sitting up on her knees, a hand wrapped around her stomach. He crouched down in front of her, setting down his staff as his eyes searched her for any more injuries.

“Are you okay?” he asked. Blake nodded, wincing slightly.

“I’m fine. Just winded,” she replied. Sun glanced back.

“Neptune, let’s secure the area. Yang, stay with Blake,” he instructed as he picked up his staff and stood up again. Yang replaced Sun as the monkey faunus and his partner headed into the foliage.

“Are you good to head back?” Yang asked when Blake removed her arm from her stomach.

“I can head back,” she assured. Yang glanced to where Sun and Neptune had disappeared.

“That was certainly some quick thinking,” she commented. Blake shook her head as she smiled slightly.

“I would’ve liked to see what he would’ve done if I hadn’t brought that dust.”

“He probably would’ve just gone at them with your sword.” Yang’s voice lowered a bit as she said, “He looked panicked when he was running over.” Blake shrugged dismissively.

“He would’ve looked just as panicked if it had been Neptune or even you,” she said. But even as the words left her mouth, Blake wasn’t quite sure she believed them herself.

“How much do you wanna bet he chose himself and Neptune to go check the area so he wouldn’t fret over you?” Blake rolled her eyes as she straightened up.

“He wouldn’t have fretted.” Yang smirked, earning a glare from her partner. “Drop it,” Blake said. She pushed herself to her feet, wincing against the pain in her stomach.

Sun and Neptune reappeared, leaving Yang no chance to say anything else. Sun still held Gambol Shroud, but he handed it over to Blake when they neared the two girls.

“Are you okay?” he asked again. Blake nodded again as she tucked her sword into its hold. “Let’s head back then. There was a couple of stragglers, but we took care of them.”

“I’ll lead the way,” Blake said and she headed into the forest before anyone could object.

“She _is_ fine,” Yang assured when she saw Sun hesitating. “It’s not like the ursa tore her stomach open.”

“But he could’ve,” was Sun’s lame retort. “Come on.”

They followed after Blake. Sun kept an eye on her as they traveled, making sure she was walking fine. An hour later, when they were halfway out of the forest, Sun noticed a barely perceptible limp to Blake’s walk. He knew she was trying to prove to them, to him, that she was fine. She might not be a bloodied mess, but the ursa had hit her hard and it must’ve still been hurting.

Without a word to Yang and Neptune, Sun sped up to catch up to Blake. She looked at him when he appeared at her side. He wordlessly held out his arm. She looked from him to arm and back. He gave her a soft smile. Blake linked her arm with his, leaning against him slightly.

Behind them, Yang and Neptune exchanged a look, wearing matching amused smiles.

“How bad was it?” Yang asked. Neptune chuckled.

“Not that bad,” he replied. “He was a little more aggressive than usual with those last grimm we took care of, but nothing crazy.”

“Blake had the nerve to say he wouldn’t fret.”

“Trying to say Sun wouldn’t worry about Blake is like saying I’m perfectly calm right now while Weiss is out.” Neptune made a face. “I’m starting to sound like Sage.” Yang shrugged.

“They’re the ones insisting they just want to be friends, so if that’s what they want, they can deal with that on their own,” Yang said, looking back to Sun and Blake.

“Or we can threaten to lock ‘em up in a orom and not let them out until they kiss.” Yang looked at Neptune and he grinned.


	11. Chapter 11

The mission hub was bustling when Blake entered the building. With muttered excuse me’s, Blake navigated her way towards the nearest missions board. She planted her feet firmly when she managed to push her way to the front of the crowd. She was not going to be moved until she finished looking through the listed jobs.

Blake started scanning the listings through narrowed amber eyes. She stopped on one towards the center of the list. Dread started trickling into her stomach. With a quick sweep of her hand, she claimed the job for herself. She didn’t bother with excuse me’s as she pushed her way back to the door. She typed out a few messages on her scroll and hit send.

She prayed she was wrong as she started towards SSSN’s house. Yang was meeting up with them to have lunch with them. She hoped she got there before they left.

Blake’s scroll buzzed and her stomach dropped when she looked at the message. Her pace picked up until she was practically running to SSSN’s house. She walked right in, forgoing knocking.

Sun sat up when Blake ran into the living room.

“Hey, Nep-“ he started but he stopped when he realized it wasn’t Neptune. Another second was all he needed to ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Where’s Yang?” Blake asked.

“She just left with Sage and Scar. Why? What’s wrong?” Blake swore under her breath and started pacing. She didn’t know how long Yang would be and she didn’t want to wait. She had to get going now. And Ruby and Weiss were out of the question; the two of them had just left on their own mission. “Blake, calm down. What’s wrong?” Sun asked for a third time, starting to get really worried from the agitation coming off of Blake in waves.

But she kept ignoring him, too wrapped up in trying to figure out what to do. So Sun did the only thing he knew would work.

He got up and closed the short distance between them. He grabbed her hand, stopping her midstride, and pulled her toward him. His hands moved to cup her face as he rested his forehead against hers. Blake’s hand instinctively went to grab one of his wrists as her heart lurched to a stop.

“Belle, look at me,” he said. “Focus on me. Just breathe. It’s all right. It’s okay. Relax.”

Blake’s mind swirled with new, much louder thoughts.

The close proximity to Sun.

Hearing his old nickname for her.

The calmness he still brought to her.

After a moment, Blake’s hold on his wrist finally loosened and her breath came easier.

“Are you good?” Sun asked. Blake nodded as she swallowed down the lump in her throat. “What’s wrong?” he tried again.

“The White Fang are starting to be active again,” she whispered. His eyebrows furrowed.

“What are you talking about?” Blake pulled back slightly and looked up at him. She kept her hand on his wrist and Sun took that as a sign that he didn’t have to let go of her.

“I was at the mission hub and I saw a mission requesting investigation of an old base of theirs. It was only up for a few minutes, so I took it before anyone else could. I sent word out to some contacts I have to keep an eye on what was left of the White Fang and they reported hearing some things. Nothing concrete but they’ve been hearing rumors.” Sun’s thumb absentmindedly stroked her cheek when he saw her starting to get worked up again.

“And you want to go investigate the base,” he guessed even though he already knew the answer. She nodded.

“I need to know what’s going on.” Blake paused, glancing down. “When we were fighting Torchwick and them, we took care of everyone but Adam. Adam just up and disappeared and I was never able to track him down.” Blake looked back up at Sun. “I need to make sure he doesn’t get far if he’s involved in this.”

The question was on the tip of Sun’s tongue. Things had been going really well between him and Blake, but he didn’t think she’d be okay partnering up with him on a mission.

And as if Blake was reading his mind, she asked, “Will you come with me?” Sun didn’t hesitate to nod.

“Of course,” he said. “Pack an overnight bag. Be ready in an hour and we can leave.” Blake nodded. When he finally let go of her face, Blake found part of her already missed his touch, the warmth of his hands.

Blake pushed those thoughts out of her mind. They wouldn’t be going back there again.

Sun watched her leave, his tail flicking anxiously. Once he heard the door front door close, he headed up to his room.  
*

“I think we need to find a spot to make camp and marks as a rendezvous,” Sun said as he pushed aside a low tree branch. “You know, in case we get separated.”

“That would be a waste of time,” Blake said. She wanted to get to the base as quickly as possible. “We can leave our bags nearby and we stick together.”

“No, it would be smart,” Sun retorted with a pointed flick of his tail. “Something could happen that separates us and I don’t think either of us are fond of the idea of wandering around the forest, wondering if the other got into trouble.”

“Well _you_ can do that. I’m going to continue on to the base.”

“I’m not going to let you go by yourself.” Blake came to a stop and rounded on him. She crossed her arms.

“And how exactly would you stop me?” she asked. Sun smirked.

“Why don’t you try and find out?” he dared. He raised his eyebrows as she narrowed her eyes. She turned around, but just as she started talking, Sun caught her hand and pulled her towards him. Blake let out a surprised squeak and her heart skipped a beat when he pulled her flush against him. First “Belle,” and now this.

“You’re getting daring, Wukong,” she managed to get out as she focused on trying to slow her racing heart. He grinned.

“It still gets your attention.”

“Well if you were paying attention to begin with,” she said as she stepped out of his hold, “you would’ve heard me start to say, fine, we can find a place to camp.” Sun’s grin turned sheepish and his tail gave another flick.

“I jumped the gun, didn’t I?” he said, scratching the back of his neck. Blake smiled.

“A little.”

A few minutes of searching around brought them to a river. After Blake marked a tree with an “x” and Sun climbed into a tree to stow away their bags, they finally continued on towards the base.

After another little while of traversing through the forest, the faint sound of voices reached Blake’s ears. Her footsteps slowed and beside her, Sun matched her movements.

Blake glanced at Sun.

_How many?_ he seemed to ask. Blake listened for a moment. The voices were faint, but she could make out a few different voices. She flashed him three fingers. He gave her another look. _Trail them._

They moved together, their footsteps silent. Sun kept an eye on their surroundings as Blake focused on the voices.

“…He wants us moved in by midnight,” a gruff voice said once they were finally within earshot. Sun tapped Blake’s hand. She didn’t have to look at him to understand the warning.

_Don’t get any closer._

“Can we even do that?” a second, more feminine voice asked.

“We should be. Most of the dust has been moved in and a couple of mechs have been moved in.” Blake and Sun exchanged a glance.

“We should actually head back,” a third voice said. “We’re due back in twenty minutes.” They started moving and Sun and Blake followed after them.

They heard rumbling engines and voices shouting as they followed the trio. Sun’s tail flicked Blake’s shoulder as he started moving to the left. Blake followed after him.

They made their way closer to the edge of the foliage as they moved. Once they were close enough to peer through, Blake came to a stop.

The familiar red wolf was on the back of a man in front of them.

Sun glanced at Blake. He couldn’t tell what was going on in her head.

He tapped her hand again. She looked at him and he jerked his head to the side, suggesting they keep moving. Blake nodded and they continued circling the clearing. As they moved, they caught glimpses of crates and a mech being moved into the building at the center of the clearing.

Across the way, two jeeps pulled up. Blake and Sun stopped, watching curiously. A few White Fang members clustered near where Blake and Sun hid.

“He’s early. He wasn’t supposed to be in for a few hours,” one of them whispered. “We have nowhere to put them.”

“Well we’re going to have to find some-“ Blake stopped listening as one of the jeep doors opened. A sharp gasp escaped her when an all too familiar person climbed out.

“Did you hear something?” someone asked. Sun immediately reached forward and pulled Blake back, causing the bushes around them to rustle.

“Show yourself!” a third voice ordered. Blake and Sun froze. Sun could’ve sworn he stopped breathing, praying no one came through the bushes in front of them. But in the moment, a White Fang member came through the bushes. Before he had a chance to say anything, Sun had his staff out and he delivered two quick blows to the man’s head as Blake scrambled to her feet.

“Move!” Sun ordered. Blake took off into the forest with Sun close behind her. Footsteps thundered behind them as bullets whizzed past them. Blake pulled out her gun and fired blindly behind them, hoping it would buy them some time. She glanced over to make sure Sun was still with her. The monkey faunus was still matching her step for step.

Sun glanced back as he heard a deep _thunk_. His stomach dropped when he saw a grenade flying at them. He shoved Blake hard as he dove to the left. Blake landed with an _oof_ as the grenade exploded and sent trees falling.

“Sun!” Blake cried out as she scrambled to her feet.

“Keep moving!” she heard him yell and the sound of footsteps sent Blake flying back into the forest. She fired her gun again as she ran.

Her lungs burned with every breath and her legs were practically begging her to stop running. But she couldn’t stop. Not until she was sure they stopped following her and not until she reached the river.

Blake realized she no longer heard footsteps behind her. She slowed down enough to glance up at the sun to make sure she was headed in the right direction. A wave of relief washed over her when the sound of a running river finally hit her ears. She slowed to a walk as she emerged out of the forest. A quick glance around told her she needed to head upstream to find their campsite.

She held Gambol Shroud loosely at her side as she walked along the river, eyes and ears peeled for any sign of danger. She let out a sigh of relief when she finally came across the tree she had marked. Her relief was short lived when she heard rustling.

She turned around, Gambol Shroud out in front of her and ready to swing at whoever came through. A sob escaped her when Sun burst out of the bushes.

Blake dropped Gambol Shroud as she ran to Sun. He dropped his staff as he opened his arms. Blake practically crashed into him. Before she could stop herself, her hands were suddenly cupping his face and she was kissing him.

Before Sun had a chance to respond, Blake was pulling away and saying, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m just- Are you okay?” She didn’t step out of his arms as she checked him for wounds. “You are okay, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” Sun panted, watching Blake. He removed his arms from around her waist and moved to brush back her hair, doing his own assessment of her. “Are you okay?” She nodded.

“I’m fine,” she said. Her eyes fell to his shoulder. “But you lied.” There was a tear in his shirt and a still bleeding wound was exposed.

“Yeah, one of their bullets nicked me,” he said, glancing at it. Now that he was looking at it and his adrenaline was starting to fade, it really started to hurt. Blake looked up at the tree where their bags were.

“Can you still get out bags?” she asked. Sun glanced up.

“I think so.” She finally stepped away from him as Sun moved to the tree. He was glad Blake couldn’t see the way his face twisted when the pain shot up his arm as he grabbed onto the tree. It took him longer than it normally would’ve to scale the tree. He sat on the branch when he finally reached it, taking a moment to catch his breath. Instead of climbing back down the tree, Sun decided to drop down. A small grunt escaped him when he landed.

He went to stand up, but Blake placed a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to sit down. She took their bags from him and started pulling out the little bit of medical supplies she had thought to bring. She didn’t think they would need it, so she didn’t bring as much as she normally would’ve, but she was glad she had the little she did think to pack.

Sun slipped off his shirt as she set down the bags. Despite the fact that he often went about with his shirt unbuttoned, Blake couldn’t stop herself from glancing down at his abs. She hurriedly moved her eyes to his shoulder when he looked at her.

After working in silence for a few minutes, Blake says, “Sun, about that kiss-“

“The kiss meant nothing, I know,” he interrupted. He tried not to sound bitter, he really did, but he couldn’t help the little that slipped out. He knew this conversation was coming, but it didn’t stop it from hurting any less. “A spur of the moment thing,” he continued. “You didn’t know what you were doing. You were relieved to see me. It was nothing.” When Blake stopped and looked at him, he gave her a tight smile and said, “Just friends, right?”

But he knew he crossed the line when he saw Blake give the slightest flinch. His shoulders dropped and his gray eyes softened.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “It’s just hard sometimes, you know?”

And Blake, who was still trying to figure out why she kissed him; Blake, who was still trying to figure out why her first thought had been to kiss him; Blake, who was still trying to figure out why she had been so relieved she sobbed when she saw him.

Blake, who was still trying to figure out if maybe, just maybe, she wanted more than a friendship again despite all of the times she insisted on just being friends.

And Blake just quietly said, “I know.”


	12. Chapter 12

Blake glanced at Sun as their cab driver sped through the streets of Vale. The monkey faunus was tucked into the corner, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. Her eyes moved to his shoulder where his bandages were just barely visible in the tear in his shirt. As if sensing her stare, Sun’s eyes opened slightly. He caught her eye and gave her a slight smile before going back to sleep.

Things had been okay after Sun’s outburst the night before. The morning after Sun had been a little standoffish, but after spending some time headed back to the city, Sun had warmed up to his usual self. Blake had watched him with an ache in her heart.

She didn’t know what she wanted anymore. She thought she wanted to just be friends again, both because she thought her feelings had been forgotten and because she still thought she was more trouble than she really was. But in the time she had spent with Sun since SSSN had come back to Vale, Blake was starting to wonder if she wanted something more. He still gave her that same flutter in her stomach, still got her heart to skip a beat. He still filled her with that familiar warmth she had come to love and it was easy to fall back into old habits with him.

But even after all these years, she didn’t want to paint a target on Sun’s back. And she still wasn’t sure if her feelings were truly resurfacing. She didn’t know if she thought she loved Sun simply because seeing him brought back all of her buried old feelings.

She wasn’t sure if her feelings were true and she didn’t want to hurt him if she found out she didn’t still love him that way after all.

She wasn’t sure what to do.

Sun woke up again when the cab came to a stop in front of RWBY’s house. He climbed out as Blake slid forward to pay for the fare. A moment later, Blake was joining him on the sidewalk.

“Are the guys already here?” Blake asked, walking up the short steps in front of the door.

“Yep and Neptune and Weiss are here too,” Sun replied.

“We’re home!” Blake called as she and Sun entered the house.

“We’re in the living room!” Ruby called back. Blake dropped her bag by the door and headed into the full living room.

As soon as they came back into the city, Sun had sent word to Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet to head over to RWBY’s house and Blake had messaged Jaune to bring his team as well.

Everyone was gathered in the living room, crammed onto the couches and a few on the floor.

“Are you guys okay?” Ruby asked, taking a quick visual assessment for any injuries.

“Cuts and bruises mostly,” Blake reported. “Sun has the worst. A bullet hit him on the shoulder.”

“It didn’t actually hit me,” Sun said when his team’s heads snapped towards him. “It didn’t get lodged or anything. Just came close enough to draw blood.”

“What exactly were you two off doing?” Weiss asked.

“Yeah, you guys just left notes saying you were going on a mission together and not to wait up,” Yang said. Blake glanced at Sun.

“We were checking out something because I had some suspicions,” Blake started. “I was at the mission hub the other day when I saw a job asking for someone to investigate an area where a White Fang base used to be. Said there was some weird activity going on there. I sent word out to some contacts I still have from our dealings with the White Fang a few years ago. They came back telling me they had heard rumors of some activity stirring up.”

“Blake did try to catch you,” Sun said, looking at Yang. “But when she got to our house, you had just left with Scar and Sage.”

“And Weiss and Ruby had just left for their own mission and Neptune was dropping them off, so I asked Sun to come with me because I didn’t want to wait,” Blake continued.

“Did you learn anything?” Pyrrha prompted.

“Something is going on for sure,” Blake replied. “We saw them hauling in some crates and a mech and we overheard some White Fang members that mentioned dust and more mechs already stored inside.”

“Who’s rallying them again though?” Ruby wondered. “We took care of Torchwick and Cinder. Who’s left?” Sun glanced at Blake as her gaze dropped to her hands.

“Adam,” he answered for her. “We saw him arrive just before we were caught and we had to make a break for it.”

“Did they get a good look at you?” Sage asked. Sun shook his head.

“They heard and saw enough to know there was someone in the forest and to come after us, but they didn’t get to see our faces or anything.”

“So we’re taking down this place!” Nora said, punching her fist into her open palm.

“Not without some solid plans,” Jaune said. He looked to Ruby. “We’re taking them out as quick as possible, right?”

“The sooner, the better,” Blake answered for her leader. “I don’t want to give Adam any chance to build up to whatever he has in mind.”

“We’ll need at least a few days to plan,” Ruby said. “Jaune, Sun, the three of us will start planning immediately. We’ll fill in the rest of you guys as we start piecing things together. I’d say be ready to leave in about a week or two.”

“We need to deal with this as soon as possible,” Blake said. A week? Maybe two? She knew Adam and she knew he could work fast. There was no way they’d know what they’d be up against in week, much less two.

“And we will. But Jaune’s right. We need to have solid plans going in there,” Weiss said. Blake looked to Sun. Surely he understood the urgency.

“They’re right, Belle,” he agreed quietly. She looked back at the people, to her friends gathered in the living room.

“Fine,” she conceded. “We’ll have up until two weeks to get plans down. Then we take on Adam.”


	13. Chapter 13

Sun’s mouth stretched open in a yawn as he slipped on his jacket.

It was late and he was barely leaving RWBY’s house. Jaune had left an hour earlier after Pyrrha had fallen asleep at the table, but Sun had opted to stay a little longer to start planning some back up plans with Ruby.

The past few days had been full of planning and strategizing. Sun would come over to RWBY’s house in the morning, stay all day planning with only breaks for eating, go home, tell Sage and Scarlet what was done so far, call Neptune and pass the same information along to him and Weiss, go to bed, and do this all over again.

Sun glanced into the living room as he walked by. He stopped when he saw Blake was on the couch, papers scattered all around her. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Sun leaned against the doorway and watched Blake for a moment.

Things had been a little weird lately between them. Or rather, Blake had been a little weird since they had returned from their mission. She hadn’t gone to completely shutting him out, but she had definitely pulled back some and Sun couldn’t figure out why. He hoped his outburst back in the forest hadn’t suddenly pushed her away.

He was good about keeping his emotions in check, about making sure he didn’t do anything Blake wasn’t comfortable with. But when she went and kissed him like that and then said it meant nothing… It stung. And he couldn’t help but be a little bitter. He had thought for a moment that maybe she did still love him, that maybe, if she was okay with it, they could try being together again.

But since Blake didn’t want it to mean anything ~~even if it did~~ , Sun would go back to trying to be just friends.

“Going to bed soon?” he asked, pulling Blake out of her thoughts. She looked up from the paper in her hands and turned to Sun. The telltale bags underneath her eyes were dark and heavy. He had seen her in the living room every night when he was going home. Now really looking at her, he could see she was slipping into one of her obsessive phases.

“Yeah,” she said. She turned back to the paper and Sun, knowing that she was lying through her teeth, marched into the living room. “Hey!” Blake exclaimed when he plucked the paper from her hands. “What are you doing?”

“You are going to come with me and take a break,” Sun said as he gathered up all of the papers she had scattered.

“Sun, I will go to bed, just give me-“ Blake stopped when Sun’s tail suddenly tapped her forehead. She looked at him. He gave her a soft smile.

“No but’s.” She sighed and nodded, knowing this wasn’t a battle she could win. Sun finished gathering up the papers and set them on the coffee table.

He held out his hand and she looked up at him.

“Just trust me,” he said. Blake looked back at his hand and took it. Sun grabbed her jacket off of the chair by the door, releasing her hand long enough for her to slip it on. Once it was on and Blake locked the door, he took her hand again and led her down the street.

“Sun, it’s the middle of the night. Where are we going?” she asked.

“Have you been eating?” he asked in return. Blake hesitated, debating about whether or not she should lie. “You haven’t,” Sun said when she didn’t answer. “We’re going to go get you some food and something to drink and then you are going to go home and get some sleep.” She didn’t put up any arguments and just let Sun lead the way, trying not to think about the feeling of her hand in his.

They eventually came to a café that Sun had been stopping at the past couple of nights. He left Blake at a table and went to order some food and drinks. A few minutes later, he returned with a sandwich, some fruit, and two drinks. He placed the food in front of Blake along with a cup of tea before he slid into the seat across from her. When she didn’t move, Sun’s tail nudged the plate a bit closer. After another moment, Blake grabbed the sandwich and took a bite.

They sat in a comfortable silence as Blake made her way through the sandwich. When Blake glanced at Sun, he gave her a smile. She looked back down at the table as she pulled the plate of fruit towards her.

“Why?” Blake finally asked, looking at Sun. He shrugged as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Someone’s gotta make sure you don’t run yourself into the ground,” he replied. “And I don’t like seeing you like this.” When Blake gave him a look, Sun hurriedly added, “Besides, you wouldn’t be of much use on the mission if you’re exhausted.”

“You know, I was looking at some of the plans you guys have,” Blake started, “and I noticed there was a section about Adam that had my name with a question mark.” It was Sun’s turn to glance down before he looked back at Blake. He set down his cup.

“I figured you would want to be the one to take him on if we got to him. But I wanted to ask you to make sure you’d be okay with that. Or, you know, I could take care of him.”

“I can do it. I’ve taken him on before. I can do it again.” Sun searched her face for a moment, trying to figure out what was going through her mind right now.

“Come on,” he said suddenly, standing up. “Let’s head back.”

“Aren’t you headed home?” Blake asked as she stood up. Sun shook his head.

“I know you won’t sleep unless someone makes sure you do, so I’ll crash at your guys’ place tonight. Besides, it’s already three in the morning and I’ll be back at your place in four hours so there’s no real point in me going home.”

“Sun, you really don’t have to do that,” Blake insisted as they left the café. “I promise I’ll get some sleep. You can go home.”

“Too late, we’re already headed back to your place. I will stay in the living room and if I hear you coming back to the living room or dining room, I will drag you back to your room.” Blake rolled her eyes.

“I can take care of myself, you know.” Sun looked down at her and smiled softly, causing Blake’s heart to skip a beat.

“I know. But sometimes you forget to.” She looked away and the rest of their walk back was in silence.

Blake whispered good night to Sun when they got back to RWBY’s house and headed up the stairs. In the living room, Sun pulled off his shirt and tossed it onto the smaller couch before falling onto the bigger couch.

He was just starting to drift off into sleep when he heard footsteps coming down the hall.

“Blake, I swear-“ he started but stopped when she appeared in the doorway.

“I can’t sleep,” she said, shrugging a little. She didn’t know why she came down here. She could have easily gone to Yang or Ruby or even just stayed in her room and pretend to be asleep. But her first though had been to come to Sun.

Without saying anything, Sun scooted back and patted the space in front of him. Blake walked towards him, part of her wanting to say nevermind, she was okay after all.

But instead she easily crawled into his open arms, her back meeting his chest and his arms wrapping around her like it was just yesterday they were doing this.

“Good night, Sun,” she whispered.

“Good night, Belle,” he said. And as Blake drifted off to sleep, there was only one thought on her mind.

Sun still felt like home.


	14. Chapter 14

The first thing Blake was aware of when she started to wake up was the chest pressed against her back.

The second thing Blake was aware of when she started to wake up was the arm around her waist.

The third thing Blake was aware of when she started to wake up was both of these things belonged to Sun.

Blake moved slightly, earning a groan from Sun. His hold around her waist tightened as he pressed his face into her hair.

“Morning,” he mumbled.

“Morning,” Blake replied, turning her head slightly. She felt Sun lift his head slightly and Blake took the opportunity to turn onto her back. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized exactly how close Sun’s face was to hers. She forced herself to breathe before he noticed her reaction.

“Sleep well?” he asked, smiling softly. She nodded. “You certainly look it.” The tightness that had been resting in Sun’s chest ever since Blake started pulling away loosened slightly when she let out a quiet laugh.

“Aren’t you supposed to tell me I look like the most gorgeous thing in the world even with bags under my eyes?” His smile grew.

“Not exactly. I would tell you you’re more gorgeous than the stars and the moon and everything in between even with bags under your eyes.”

Blake’s smile dropped slightly and for a second, Sun thought he had gone too far. But then he saw her gaze glance down – to his mouth.

He swallowed down the lump in his throat as his tail gave a nervous flick. The question was on the tip of his tongue.

“Belle,” Sun started but was cut off by Ruby coming into the living room and exclaiming, “Sun!” Blake and Sun’s attention snapped to the younger girl. Sun’s hand moved to Blake’s stomach, almost as if he didn’t want to be caught with his arm around her waist.

“Uh, hey, Ruby,” Sun greeted, clearing his throat nervously.

“Shouldn’t you be home?” she asked after glancing at Blake.

“I am, but, uh, I caught Blake up when I was leaving and we, uh, went out to eat and I kinda came back here.”

“I’m gonna go up to my room,” Blake suddenly announced when Ruby gave her and Sun a curious look. She sat up, brushing off Sun’s hand with almost no regard. “I’ll see you guys in a bit.” She hurried out of the living room. Ruby watched Sun, who was too busy watching Blake leave.

When he finally looked back to her, Ruby asked, “Everything okay?” Sun sighed and scratched the back of his neck.

“I think?”

Upstairs, Blake hurried down the hall to Yang’s room. But when she reached her partner’s door, her hand hovering over the doorknob, Blake stopped.

If she talked to Yang, what would she say? If Blake told her she might still be in love with Sun, what would she say?

She’d tell her to act on her feelings and get back with Sun.

But Blake… Blake wasn’t sure if that was what she wanted. She already broke his heart – and her own – once. She couldn’t do it again. And if they got back together, she wasn’t sure that’s where it wouldn’t end.

She was scared. She hadn’t opened up to anyone like she had with Sun since she had ended things with him. And even if it was Sun she’d be opening up to again, those same fears and doubts that plagued her the first time around.

She wasn’t worth the time.

She was too much trouble.

She was a burden.

She’d endanger him.

He could do so much better.

And even though he had put most of those fears and doubts to rest the first time around and she was sure he could do it again, there was still one thing Blake couldn’t bear.

Adam getting his hands on Sun.

And if Sun and his team went on this mission, they ran a very high chance of that happening. Adam would remember from their fights years ago that Sun mattered a lot to her and Adam wouldn’t hesitate to use that against her. And if she was in love with him again and if Adam got a hold of Sun, Blake wasn’t really sure what she would do.

She could talk to Ruby about handling the mission between RWBY and JNPR, that they wouldn’t need SSSN’s help (nevermind the fact that they already had plans revolving around all three teams.) But in the back of her mind, she knew Ruby would never go for that. It wasn’t practical.

Blake had to get Sun to back out of this mission some other way. As she turned away from Yang’s door, she knew how she could do just that.

She’d push him away.

She’d push him away to get him to pull out of the mission. He wouldn’t want to work with her or her team if she shut him out again.

This was for his own good. This was to protect Sun.

Even if it cost her her relationship with him.


End file.
